Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate announced

While the old rumor mill had sort of picked up on this announcement before, today Warner Bros. Interactive unveiled that Batman: Arkham Origins was indeed in the works for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, and PC platforms, scheduled to hit on October 25th of this year.

A bit more surprising was the announcement that there would be a handheld spin-off titled Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate for the Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita. This version of the game ties into the prequel story delivered by Origins, but isn’t a direct port. Instead it will take a 2.5D approach to gameplay, which one would assume would make this a more traditional beat ’em up experience.

Not a lot of info was given via the press release, but I imagine we’ll see a flood of screens and trailers soon enough. What we do know is that the game predates the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, isn’t being developed by Rocksteady, and will be coming from Warner Bros. internal Montreal studio. The Montreal studio doesn’t have a whole lot under its belt at the moment, but they did provide the port of Arkham City for the Wii U, so they’ve got some experience with the series. It will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

To find out a little more, feel free to peruse the official press release below. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on more information about Batman: Arkham Origins as it comes in.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, the next installments of the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise. Batman: Arkham Origins will be available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 system, the Wii U system, and Windows PC. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate will be available for the Nintendo 3DS handheld system, and PlayStation Vita handheld entertainment system. Both titles are scheduled to release worldwide Oct. 25, 2013.

Developed by WB Games Montréal, Batman: Arkham Origins features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, the first two critically acclaimed games of the franchise. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, players will meet many important characters for the first time and forge key relationships.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is a 2.5-D game developed by Armature Studio that brings the Batman Arkham experience for the first time to Nintendo and Sony handheld systems. A companion game to Batman: Arkham Origins, players can continue the storyline of the console version and discover more details of the Dark Knight’s past.

“Batman: Arkham is a huge triple-A videogame franchise and we are delighted to expand the experience with Batman: Arkham Origins,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “WB Games Montréal has an incredibly talented team building upon Rocksteady’s award-winning gameplay and technology to deliver a deep, immersive, quality experience fans will love.”

“WB Games Montréal is honored to have the opportunity to create Batman: Arkham Origins, a new chapter in this amazing franchise” said Reid Schneider, Vice President and Executive Producer, WB Games Montréal. “We are huge fans of the franchise and are committed to creating an experience that offers players more of what they love, as well as the chance to play as a younger Batman within a fresh storyline and expanded world.”

Batman: Arkham Origins is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license. Fans can visit www.batmanarkhamorigins.com for more information about the game.